We are very happy to announce the 1st webinar in our new Speaker Series, A Sense of Place: The Human Connection to Earth, Water and Sky, featuring Dr. Michael Kirk, a research scientist in the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, where he serves as Principal Investigator of the NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT). He is also the Deputy Mission Scientist on NASA’s PUNCH mission and a Co-investigator on the SunCET CubeSat mission, both scheduled for launch in 2025. Dr. Kirk helps lead the Center for HelioAnalytics at NASA Goddard, a pioneering effort to integrate data science into the study of the Sun and its effects on Earth. He earned his Ph.D. in Astronomy from New Mexico State University, focusing on how small-scale solar features connect to larger solar eruptions, and has previously worked at the Air Force Research Laboratory and the National
Solar Observatory in Sunspot, NM. Dr. Kirk’s journey began with a bachelor’s degree from Whitman College and early work at Goddard as a systems engineer, studying the changing patterns of the Sun’s polar regions. Outside the lab, he enjoys discovering new music and experimenting with home coffee roasting.
This webinar will take place Thursday, July 17th, 2025, at Noon Pacific Time / 3PM Eastern Time.
A recording will be available on our multimedia page after the event.
